Sharon Stone Reveals ‘Sliver’ Producer Urged Her to Sleep with Co-Star: Women all around the world work really hard to establish their name in their respective industries. And just like any individual they aspire to rise high and be highly regarded in their profession. Undoubtedly, women are doing extremely well in their respective fields, inspiring millions by breaking several stereotypes and taboos. However still, no matter how much we progress as a society and hail women’s empowerment, there will be some who will find a way to demean a woman. While there is news about women’s achievements, there are also sections that depict the evils happening against women.
Consider any industry, they all somewhere fail to give women the respect they deserve, and where women are considered merely as objects. Renowned actress Sharon Stone recently reflected on the dark side of the film industry and shared about the double standards of the industry that pressures an individual to engage in sexual activities for professional advancement.
Stone shared on the latest episode of “The Louis Theroux Podcast” that late producer Robert Evans allegedly urged her to have intercourse with co-star Billy Baldwin, suggesting that it may improve chemistry, which can save their film, Sliver. It’s a 1993 thriller directed by Phillip Noyce starring Stone as a book editor who moves into an exclusive New York City apartment building and discovers its residents harbor dark secrets.
During the podcast, Stone recounted one meeting with Evans. She said, “He is running around his office in sunglasses explaining to me that he slept with Ava Gardner and I should sleep with Billy Baldwin because if I slept with Billy Baldwin, Billy Baldwin’s performance would get better. And we needed Billy to get better in the movie because that was the problem. If I could sleep with Billy, then we’d have chemistry on screen, and if I would just have sex with him, then that would save the movie. The real problem in the movie was me because I was so uptight and so not like a real actress who could just fuck him and get things back on track. The real problem was I was such a tight ass.”
Stone’s Silver co-star Baldwin posted on X (formerly Twitter) reacting to Stone’s statement. His post implied that Stone’s comments were unwarranted. He even subtly added a statement that suggested that he had information that could tarnish her reputation. He wrote, “Not sure why Sharon Stone keeps talking about me all these years later? Does she still have a crush on me, or is she still hurt after all these years because I shunned her advances?… I have so much dirt on her it would make her head spin but I’ve kept quiet.”
Throwing shades on the industry’s double standards, Stone narrated another incident that made her feel highly uncomfortable being a part of the film industry. She shared when she was coming off the blockbuster success of Basic Instinct at the time and remembered: “I didn’t have to fuck Michael Douglas. Michael could come to work and know how to hit those marks, do that line, and rehearse and show up. Now all of a sudden, I’m in the ‘I have to fuck people”‘ business.”
Stone also mentioned Evans’ uncomforting remark in her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, although she did not name Evans at the time. Stone wrote in the book, “Now you think if I fuck him, he will become a fine actor? Nobody’s that good in bed. I felt they could have just hired a costar with talent, someone who could deliver a scene and remember his lines. I also felt they could fuck him themselves and leave me out of it. It was my job to act, and I said so. This was not a popular response. I was considered difficult.”
Stone has often been vocal about the harassment she has faced in the industry. Earlier, on Kelly Ripa’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast, Stone revealed she was sexually harassed by a former executive at Sony who allegedly flashed at her when she went to his office for a general meeting in the 1980s. She told Ripa, “I went to his office and it was, you know, back in the eighties, so the couch was basically on the floor, you know? It was those very low giant couches, and my knees were around my neck, and of course, I’m so tall anyway, so I look like all legs sitting there akimbo on the couch, and he is pacing around the office, and he’s doing the exact same thing.”
Stone said the Sony boss told her: “Oh, it’s true what they say about you, and you’re the most gorgeous. We haven’t seen anyone like you in decades. Everybody’s talking about you, and look at you. You’re the most articulate. You’re so smart and beautiful, and that hair. Then he came walking right up in front of me, and he said, ‘But first … ‘ and he took his penis right out in my face. Of course, I was very young and what I do when I’m nervous, because I’m basically a very bubbly person, I started laughing.
I started laughing and crying at the same time and I couldn’t stop because I became hysterical. I couldn’t stop, so he didn’t know what to do. So, of course, he put it away, and he went through this door behind his desk, which I thought was that he left, so I didn’t know what to do. I was just sitting there hysterically, and eventually, his secretary came and led me out, right? This was not the last of many weird experiences like this in my career.”
Stone said on the podcast that she has often had to deal with abusive men in power. When we consider Stone’s case, we realize how vile a man can think. It’s a question to be asked aloud: is there even one place where women can live with peace and dignity?
